At 16:36 of the second period in the Senators/Sabres game, video review was initiated by the Buffalo Video Review Booth and the Toronto Situation Room because the puck crossed the goal line during a goal mouth scramble. It was determined that the referee's whistle was blown prior to the puck crossing the goal line. No Goal Ottawa.

BOSTON – Forward Daniel Paille will make his return to the Boston Bruins lineup tonight against Los Angeles at the TD Garden.

Paille missed one game after he suffered a mild concussion in the first period of last Thursday's game against Florida. He did not return to that game and missed Boston's win at Columbus two nights later.

He started skating for the first time Monday during a non-contact practice and took the morning skate with the Bruins today. Paille said he's been symptom-free since the hit but was held out of the game and activity for precautionary reasons.

Jordan Caron is a healthy scratch due to Paille's return.

DENVER – Paul Stastny will return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup tonight against the San Jose Sharks at Pepsi Center after missing three games with a torso injury. The teams will face off again Thursday in San Jose.
   
Stastny was injured late in the second period Dec. 4 in the Avalanche’s 4-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll center a line with Matt Duchene and TJ Galiardi.
   
“It was tough being away, but I’ve been feeling better every day and I’ll be ready to go tonight,” Stastny said after the morning skate. “I just took an awkward hit and it kind of stunned me. It kind of weakened me around my torso area. It wasn’t comfortable at all. I really couldn’t push off or skate too hard or take draws or shoot pucks for a while.”
   
Right wing Brandon Yip suffered an apparent leg injury this morning and won’t play against the Sharks.

“He’s being re-evaluated right now,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said.

Without Yip, the Avalanche is down to 11 healthy forwards, so defenseman Matt Hunwick will suit up and slide between fourth-line duties and the blue line.
   
The victory against the Red Wings 10 days ago gave the Avalanche a three-game winning streak and completed an eight-game homestand with a 5-3 record, but the team followed it by losing all three games of a trip through Western Canada last week by the combined score of 13-3.
   
“No. 1, we have to try and minimize some of the mistakes that we’re making, be it with or without the puck,” Sacco said. “Another area that we can be better at is managing the puck. We were playing well before the road trip. We had a nice homestand and played solid hockey – just get back to making sure that we take care of the puck and that we play with good energy at home like we were before. We started to build something before we left for the road trip.”
   
The Avalanche’s power play has been in a prolonged slump, going 1-for-23 in the past seven games and 4-for-46 in a 14-game stretch. Colorado has allowed at least one power-play goal in five consecutive games, killing off just 19 of 26 penalties in that span.
   
The Sharks also are in a slump, posting a 2-5-1 record in eight games since rattling off a 12-2-1 record in their previous 15 games.
   
Like the Avalanche, the Sharks have been hampered by a poor power play and subpar penalty killing. They have gone 1-for-25 on power play in the past eight games and have permitted at least one power-play goal in five of those games, killing off just 16 of 22 penalties.
   
A number of the Sharks’ most talented forwards haven’t been producing of late. Patrick Marleau has gone seven games without point, Joe Pavelski has one goal and one assist in nine games, and Joe Thornton has eight assists but no goals in 11 games.
   
Martin Havlat has one goal – it came on a power play -- and 11 assists in 23 games this season after collecting 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists) with Minnesota in 2010-11 to tie Mikko Koivu for the team scoring lead. The Sharks acquired him July 3 in a trade that sent Dany Heatley to the Wild.

DENVER -- These are the projected lineups for tonight’s game between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center:

SHARKS
Joe Pavelski - Joe Thornton - Torrey Mitchell
Ryan Clowe - Logan Couture - Martin Havlat
Jamie McGinn - Patrick Marleau - Michal Handzus
Brad Winchester - Andrew Desjardins - Andrew Murray

Dan Boyle - Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Jason Demers - Brent Burns
Colin White - Justin Braun

Antti Niemi
Thomas Greiss

INJURIES: D Douglas Murray (upper body) and D Jim Vandermeer (upper body) are out.

AVALANCHE
Matt Duchene - Paul Stastny - TJ Galiardi
Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Milan Hejduk
Daniel Winnik - Jay McClement - David Jones
Matt Hunwick - Brad Malone - Cody McLeod

Kyle Quincey - Shane O'Brien
Erik Johnson - Stefan Elliott
Jan Hejda - Ryan O'Byrne

Semyon Varlamov
Jean-Sebastien Giguere

INJURIES: RW Chuck Kobasew (head), LW Peter Mueller (head), C Mark Olver (head), D Ryan Wilson (head) and RW Brandon Yip (leg) are out.

LW Kevin Porter has two games remaining on his four-game suspension for his knee-on-knee hit against Vancouver’s David Booth on Dec. 6.

BOSTON – It’s been almost a month since Steven Kampfer played in an NHL game.

The second-year defenseman will get back into action tonight for the Boston Bruins when they play host to the Los Angeles Kings at TD Garden without captain Zdeno Chara. Other than two conditioning games with Providence in the American Hockey League earlier this month, Kampfer has spent a lot of time practicing.
           
He’s only played in five games all season after he skated in 38 games for Boston and 22 for Providence last season as a first-year pro.
           
“That you’ve just got to take every day and get better,” said Kampfer about the biggest lesson this season has taught him when asked after Boston’s morning skate. “It’s a learning process when you come in as a seventh [defenseman]. They want you to learn things. So I think that’s been the main aspect of the year so far.”
               
So what has Kampfer learned from Day One of training camp until now?
               
“[I’m] moving my feet more, more confidence,” he said. “Definitely the skating aspect of the game has definitely helped. So I think using that confidence will help out.”
              
Coach Claude Julien wants Kampfer’s confidence level to be pretty high in order to produce the way he can, regardless of how many minutes he winds up playing. He has one assist in the five games he’s played, and has averaged a little less than 12 minutes of ice time before contest.
               
“A player like that just has to go out and he can’t be afraid of making mistakes, and you’ve heard every coach say that,” Julien said. “You just go out there and play, play with confidence and if you’re afraid of making a mistake, you’re going to make a mistake. … He’s worked really hard, we’ve done some extra with him in practice, kept him in the best shape possible and he’s had a couple of games in Providence, where they felt he played really well. So he just needs to bring that with him tonight … he’s a player that skates really well and he can move the puck when he feels good and he’s confident about his game, that’s what he brings to us.”

WINNIPEG -- The Tampa Bay Lightning were hoping to add Antti Miettinen to boost their offense, but the Winnipeg Jets claimed him on waivers, the team announced Tuesday.

Miettinen began this season with Kazan Ak-Bars in the KHL, but the Lightning signed him to a two-year contract Monday. He had to pass through waivers to be eligible to play for Tampa Bay, but the Jets snared him on Tuesday morning.

"We always said that we would be proactive and take a look at all the options that presented themselves," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said. "He's shown a lot of versatility in his game. He's a real good character person that can bring a lot to the dressing room and the team."

The 31-year-old Miettinen has 89 goals and 212 points in 472 career NHL games for Dallas and Minnesota. He had 2 goals and 8 points in 20 games in the KHL this season.

The Jets like Miettinen's experience and versatility, particularly for a lineup that remains in need of some additional scoring punch. Nik Antropov and Eric Fehr have battled injuries lately. Miettinen has reached 11 or more goals in each of his past six NHL seasons, and notched 16 goals last season with Minnesota, the second-highest total in his NHL career.

"He adds to our group, which is good," Jets coach Claude Noel said. "I think he fits in our group. He's a smart player, dependable all over the ice. He can finish some. I think he makes us better."

Miettinen and his family remain in Finland, but Cheveldayoff indicated that the Jets are working to bring them to Winnipeg as quickly as possible.

NEW YORK -- The Rangers andStars will ice the same lineups Sunday they did in their previous games.

Rangers coach John Tortorella chose to bench Sean Avery in favor of Erik Christensen, and it paid off as Christensen had a power-play assist and won five of six faceoffs in 12:54 of ice time. Henrik Lundqvist will get the start in goal.

The Stars will counter with Richard Bachman, won enters tonight's game with 424 fewer games played than Lundqvist. The 24-year-old Bachman has played in three NHL games and won his first career start Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. He made 26 saves to earn another start.

Here is what the Stars and Rangers lineups will look like tonight at Madison Square Garden:

STARS
Eric Nystrom - Vernon Fiddler - Radek Dvorak
Loui Eriksson - Jamie Benn - Michael Ryder
Steve Ott - Mike Ribeiro - Brenden Morrow
Jake Dowell - Tom Wandell - Tomas Vincour

Nicklas Grossman - Trevor Daley
Alex Goligoski - Philip Larsen
Sheldon Souray - Stephane Robidas

Richard Bachman will start in goal, with Andrew Raycroft the backup.

RANGERS
Artem Anisimov - Derek Stepan - Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko - Brad Richards - Ryan Callahan
Carl Hagelin - Brian Boyle - John Mitchell
Brandon Dubinsky - Erik Christensen - Brandon Prust

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto - Steve Eminger
Jeff Woywitka - Anton Stralman

Henrik Lundqvist will start in goal, with Martin Biron the backup.

Follow Dave Lozo on Twitter: @DaveLozo

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers recorded a 4-3 victory against New Jersey on Nov. 21, but they don’t want a repeat performance when the teams meet again Tuesday night.

Sure, the same outcome would work just fine for Coach Kevin Dineen and his troops – they just don’t want to fall behind 3-0 like they did in the teams’ first meeting.

“You know what, we started that game well, we played well the first seven-eight minutes and all of a sudden a wave of Devils talent really came at us,” Dineen said after the morning skate Tuesday. “That was one of those games that we really felt strongly that we could come back and that our team was confident and playing well. That was a real character-builder for our team.

“It was certainly one of the games that sticks out so far this year on the positive side. We don’t want to play that formula too often where you get down three and then have to scratch and claw to fight your way back. It certainly makes for a quality matchup moving into tonight’s game.”

The Panthers made history with that victory over the Devils. It was the first time ever they had rallied from a three-goal deficit to win in regulation.

Defenseman Brian Campbell knows that kind of comeback doesn’t happen often.

“We can’t get down 3-0, we know that,” he said. “That’s not going to happen again. This team we’re playing is a great team. We had mistakes early on, some turnovers that cost us, some lackadaisical play. We’ve got to be ready from the get-go tonight and we want to be the ones that are setting the tempo and pushing the pace.”

Martin Brodeur was in net for New Jersey on Nov. 21 and he’ll start again Tuesday night.

“We’ve got to play 60 minutes, that’s the bottom line,” he said. “We got off to a great start and we sat on it and they gained some confidence as the game went on and beat us in the third. That’s why we need to respect them — not that we didn’t respect them, they’re a good hockey team that can put the puck in the net, so you’ve got to play well.”

Brodeur, though, stopped short of calling this meeting a revenge game for the Devils.

“They’re not the Rangers or the Flyers, so it’s a little different,” he said. “But, again, we let go two points, so we’ll try to get them back tonight.”

MONTREAL -- Despite having Evgeni Nabokov healthy and available, New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano has opted to give Al Montoya his eighth start in goal in the last nine games for tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Nabokov suffered a groin injury the last time the Islanders faced the Canadiens, a 4-3 win at home Nov. 17, but was taken off injured reserve Monday.

In Nabokov's absence, and with Rick DiPietro still sidelined with a groin injury of his own, Montoya has played extremely well, with a 3-2-2 record, .915 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against average in his last eight games. That includes 13 saves in a shutout third period to preserve a 5-4 win against Dallas on Dec. 3 for DiPietro after he was injured.

Meanwhile, Nabokov waits.

"I really like the way the last couple of days of practice have gone for him, but we have a lot of games coming up," Capuano said. "So we'll get him some additional work and he'll be ready shortly for us."

Nabokov did not hide his disappointment with the decision after Tuesday's morning skate, but admitted he needs to earn the starting job back from Montoya.

"The big thing is to play well," he said. "In a competitive league you have to play well in order to have a chance. It doesn't matter what team you're on, if you're fighting for first spot in the conference or fighting for a playoff spot, whoever gives you the best chance to win has to play."

It has been a long, strange trip for Nabokov ever since he hit free agency as one of the League's top goalies in the summer of 2010, coming off a season where he went 44-16-10 with a .922 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average in 71 games for the San Jose Sharks.

But Nabokov found no suitors in a flooded goalie market who were willing to meet his asking price, and instead headed to the KHL. His stay there lasted just 22 games, and then hoped to land in Detroit when he signed with the Red Wings. But the Islanders grabbed him on a waiver claim, and after sitting out last season after the waiver claim, he's been with the Isles since training camp.

"I hate free agency," Nabokov said with a laugh. "Things change. That was the first time I became a free agent. Oops."

His time in Long Island has been tumultuous, to say the least, but he says he wants to make it work with the Islanders, except he is not willing to entertain the idea of being a backup.

"I don't think I will ever agree with that term," he said. "I do like to play, but you have to give your team a chance to win and you have to play well in order to demand something or expect something. That's the bottom line."

Nabokov said he feels he was given ample opportunity to prove himself earlier this season only to be de-railed by this groin injury. He'll now have to wait a bit longer to get another opportunity to start over.

For Montreal, defenseman Chris Campoli will re-enter the lineup to play for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury on opening night in Toronto on Oct. 6. He will be on Montreal's third defense pairing, with newcomer Tomas Kaberle, who will make his Bell Centre debut after being acquired from Carolina in a trade for Jaroslav Spacek last Friday.

Campoli also will play on the second power-play unit, alongside Raphael Diaz, while Kaberle and P.K. Subban man the points on the first unit.

To make room for Campoli, hard-hitting rookie Alexei Emelin will sit out while defenseman Yannick Weber will play as a forward to take the spot of injured captain Brian Gionta.

Carey Price gets the start in goal for a sixth straight game.

Here are the possible lineups for the game, though the Islanders held only an optional skate Tuesday morning, so these line combinations are from their last game.

ISLANDERS
Matt Moulson - John Tavares - PA Parenteau
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Kyle Okposo
David Ullstrom - Josh Bailey - Brian Rolston
Matt Martin - Marty Reasoner - Tim Wallace

Mark Streit - Travis Hamonic
Steve Staios - Milan Jurcina
Mike Mottau - Dylan Reese

CANADIENS
Michael Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn
Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Erik Cole
Travis Moen - Lars Eller - Louis Leblanc
Mathieu Darche - Petteri Nokelainen - Yannick Weber
 
Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban
Hal Gill - Raphael Diaz
Tomas Kaberle - Chris Campoli

SUNRISE, Fla. — Kurtis Foster could have been excused if he wanted, or needed, to sit out New Jersey’s game at Florida on Tuesday night.

But after flying Monday night and Tuesday morning to join his new team just in time to head to the BankAtlantic Center for an optional skate, the veteran defenseman was feeling more excited than exhausted.

“Coming to a new team I think I’ll get a little bit of a burst of energy, a little bit of adrenaline going knowing that it’s my first time with the team,” said Foster, whom the Devils acquired in a four-player trade. “Just the excitement of meeting new guys and being with a team that’s in a lot better position than we were in Anaheim and you’re winning games and close to the playoffs, it definitely makes it a lot easier to deal with a little bit of tiredness. I’ll go back and get a good rest this afternoon and be ready to go tonight.”

Foster was acquired by New Jersey along with minor-league goalie Timo Pielmeier in exchange for defenseman Mark Fraser, center Rod Pelley and a seventh-round choice in the 2012 Entry Draft.

It was the second time in less than six months that Foster was traded. Anaheim had acquired him July 1 in exchange for fellow defenseman Andy Sutton.

New Jersey will be the sixth NHL team for the 30-year-old Foster, following Atlanta, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Edmonton and Anaheim. He’s expected to be paired Tuesday night with Bryce Salvador and also should get time on the Devils’ power play, where he will be reunited with former Thrashers teammate Ilya Kovalchuk.

“Knowing what Jersey is all about, I want to try to play solid defense, but my game is shooting the puck and create as much offensively,” Foster said. “I know that [Kovalchuk] likes to play the off-side on the power play and I like to play the right side. Hopefully, it’s a match that works out and (I’ll) try to get him the puck as much as I can in a position where he can shoot and make sure as many of my shots through, too. If I can generate a little bit of offense, help out the PP and play a solid all-around game, that’s kind of what I’m hoping for.”

Foster says he’s 100 percent recovered from a leg problem that sidelined him during training camp and the exhibition season.

He explained that a wire that he had inserted after fracturing his left leg while with Minnesota somehow moved and went into his quad. Foster said the wire was clipped at the bone and the leg shouldn’t be an issue moving forward.

Foster broke his leg in March of 2008 and missed most of the following season, but he played in 71 games for Tampa Bay in 2009-10 and 74 games for Edmonton last season.

Foster was informed of the trade after being pulled off the ice 10 minutes into Anaheim’s practice Monday afternoon.

It wasn’t until he drove home after showering that Ducks general manager Bob Murray informed him where he was being sent.

“I really didn’t know what to think,” Foster said. “It’s kind of a weird feeling when he tells you you’re being moved but he doesn’t tell you where. He did say at that point that it was a good situation for me and it was the best thing for my career going forward. When you have a GM telling you that, it’s a good thing and when he told me it was the Devils I was pretty excited.”

Foster took a 5:30 p.m. flight from Anaheim to Dallas and then headed to South Florida on a 5:45 a.m. flight Tuesday morning.

During the optional skate, he got some one-on-one instruction from Devils assistant coach Adam Oates, who also coached Foster in Tampa Bay.

“You never want to be traded, but when you do, you know that the team you’re going to likes you and wants you, so it’s always a good feeling,” Foster said. “Even though I’ve moved on to my fourth team 
in a couple of years, it is exciting, it is nice to know that I’m still wanted out there and that I think I can really help this team.
         
“[I’m] very, very happy. I think my wife will have a hard time leaving California. She enjoyed the beach life there, but for my family, my wife and my son, it’s a move that’s going to benefit the most for my future going ahead.”